Sheriff's deputies, including an undercover officer playing the part of a drunk, carried out a sting Friday in parts of coastal North County to curtail liquor stores from selling alcohol to people who are already blottoed.

The undercover deputy dressed as a homeless man and was sprayed with alcohol. He would stagger into liquor stores in Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas, trying to buy more to drink.

Selling alcohol to someone who is obviously drunk is a misdemeanor. It carries up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

Deputies in Operation Drunk Decoy issued clerks warnings if they sold booze to their undercover colleague.

Deputies were scheduled to make stops at 22 liquor stores during the operation. Reporters from the U-T and several other media outlets joined the deputies for the first five stops in Encinitas. The officers ended up making only ten stops, with eight of the stores selling alcohol to the undercover deputy.

The undercover officer, with his disheveled hair, bushy beard, and the stench of Jameson Whiskey, would stumble into the store, drop change, look at 40-ounce bottles of beer, ask where they were and bump into merchandise.

"He's doing everything short of throwing up on the counter," said sheriff's Lt. Glenn Giannantonio, who was in charge of the operation.

Once the undercover officer cleared the liquor store with alcohol in hand, deputies would enter and explain to the clerk why the man shouldn't have been sold beer. Each clerk in those first five stops told the deputies that the undercover deputy hardly seemed drunk.

A clerk at a 7-Eleven in Encinitas said she didn't really smell the alcohol on the undercover officer and didn't notice his odd behavior until he actually left the store. She said she was grateful for the learning experience and would be more aware next time.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control paid for the operation as part of a $100,000 yearlong grant.

Giannantonio said the sheriff's Encinitas station's coverage area, which consists of Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas, has more establishments with liquor licenses than any other station in the county.